Echo

Echo


  • Supercars on Gravel Roads: Are You Wasting Your Sound Systemโ€™s Potential?

    Would you drive a Formula 1 racing car on a gravel road? Not if you could help it, right? Because on a gravel road, you know that an F1 car canโ€™t reveal its potential. Yet, this is exactly what many audiophiles do when they play their high-end audio system in an untreated room.

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  • Golden Ears Anonymous: A 12-Step Program for Recovering Audiophiles

    From apologizing to loved ones neglected during DAC testing to listening to Dark Side of the Moon on a $20 speaker, this clever guide skewers obsessive habits with wit, reminding readers that “itโ€™s the ear, not the gear.”

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  • SonoSphere: The Next Generation of Sound Containment for Your Living Room

    Is it magic, or is it science? The SonoSphere traps your music in a private bubble, yet the “Phantom Sound Effect” tricks others nearby into thinking they hear itโ€”which they donโ€™t. Really.

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  • The Shakuhachi: How a Zen Bamboo Flute Shaped Japanese Culture

    From courtly halls to Zen temples, the shakuhachi evolved from a Tang Dynasty import into a meditative tool and global musical icon, resonating with timeless beauty.

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  • From Memphis to Mainstream: The Day Elvis Signed With RCA Records

    November 21, 1955, wasnโ€™t just another Monday. For Elvis Presley, it was the day a $35,000 contract (equivalent to $400,000 in 2024) pulled him out of a regional spotlight and thrust him onto the global stage. RCA Records, sensing that the young singer from Tupelo, Mississippi, was more than just a passing trend, purchased his…

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  • The Day Brian Epstein Stumbled on The Beatles in the Cavern

    In the cold, metallic Liverpool air of November 9, 1961, a moment was brewing in the dank, sweaty underbelly of The Cavern Club that would soon send shockwaves across the music world.

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  • Building the Beeb: The Fascinating Story Behind the BBC’s Formation

    In the gritty, post-war streets of London, where jazz clubs thumped beneath a veneer of stiff collars and bowler hats, a quiet revolution was brewing. It wasnโ€™t in the smoky speakeasies or the avant-garde art galleries, but in the hushed workshops of wireless engineers and the boardrooms of ambitious businessmen. On October 18, 1922, as…

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  • Are We On the Cusp of a DSP (Digital Signal Processing) Audio Revolution? Part 2

    In Part 2, writer Mike Harkins talks to audio manufacturers about DSP’s future, and boldly predicts it will revolutionize sound quality in ways we’ve never experienced before.

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  • When Muhammad Ali and the Fab Four Collided

    In February 1964, two of the most iconic forces of the 20th century collided in an encounter so surreal it could have been scripted by Hollywood. The Beatles, fresh off their earth-shattering debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, met Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali) in Miami Beach. It was a meeting that combined…

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  • Boombox Bonanza: The History and Evolution of Portable Music Players

    In a world dominated by smartphones and wireless earbuds, itโ€™s easy to forget the trailblazers of portable audio that paved the way. This journey through the history and evolution of portable music players is filled with innovation, cultural shifts, and technological marvels. Letโ€™s dive into the groovy history and evolution of portable music players, a…

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  • A Deeper Look Into a Modern Classic: The Dayton Wright Hommage

    From the PMA vault, this article was initially published in August 2022 and is worth revisiting. One of my favourite and most memorable listening experiences this year was of the state-of-the-art Dayton Wright Hommage (French for Homage) loudspeaker, a cutting-edge re-imagining and redesign of the Dayton Wright XG-10 of yore. The Hommage uses nine XG-10…

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  • John Lennon & Paul McCartney’s Last Photos Together

    In March 1974, amidst the backdrop of a Santa Monica beach house with a storied past, a fleeting reunion between John Lennon and Paul McCartney was captured in photographs that spoke volumes about their complex friendship. These images, snapped by May Pang during what was infamously known as Lennonโ€™s โ€œLost Weekend,โ€ offered rare glimpses of…

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  • Streaming vs. Lossless: Understanding Audio Formats

    In the ever-evolving landscape of digital music, the quest for pristine sound quality amidst the convenience of digital formats has led to the creation of an array of lossless audio codecs. These formats serve as a beacon for audiophiles and music enthusiasts alike, offering a sanctuary where the integrity of sound is preserved in its…

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  • Books, Beats, and Buds: Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’

    In the swirling, electric year of 1967, a groundbreaking track reverberated through the UK, soon to envelop the US in its mesmerizing sound waves. This wasnโ€™t just any songโ€”it was โ€œPurple Hazeโ€ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a sonic masterpiece that would redefine the boundaries of rock music. But beyond its revolutionary guitar riffs and…

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  • Echoes of Apollo: The Music of Ancient Greece

    Introduction: The Soul of Greek Culture In the heart of ancient Greece, music was the very pulse of society, intricately woven into the fabric of daily life and imbued with a significance that went far beyond mere entertainment. This deep integration of music in Greek culture manifested in various dimensions, from the sacred echoes in…

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